


The Adventure

by squareclair



Series: Maxwell's Journey Through the Commonwealth [2]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Canon Divergence, Maxwell learns about the Commonwealth, Trans Male Character, character with fibromyalgia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:56:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9676556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squareclair/pseuds/squareclair
Summary: Maxwell has survived Vault-Tec's cryogenic experiment, but now he has to survive the Commonwealth. He'll find himself in the middle of the conflicts that have been slowly tearing the Commonwealth apart. It won't be easy, but he'll stand up and help those who need it. He won't let the discrimination non-humans face continue, and he will bring people together.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Maxwell begins his new life and travels to Concord to find someone who can help him through this new world, finding instead Preston and his small group of settlers.

It took a few hours for Maxwell to fully accept the world around him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a freakishly vivid nightmare. The sound of Codsworth puttering about and the feeling of Toby’s scaly skin kept him grounded. Codsworth spoke excitedly with Maxwell about what he had missed. He explained that he’d kept as much riffraff as he could out of Sanctuary, refusing to allow any unsavory visitors to make off with any scrap. Maxwell grinned tiredly as Codsworth continued on about a strange fellow in sunglasses and another from Vault-Tec. He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until the next morning.  


Maxwell jolted awake, gasping for breath as he blinked away a nightmare. Looking around frantically, he was reminded of where he was. Toby was curled up and sleeping soundly at the other end of the couch. Codsworth could be heard outside, humming a tune Maxwell was too tired to recognize. Standing with a groan, Maxwell stretched out his sore muscles, doing some simple poses. His body was already beginning to feel as though it were on fire. With a sigh, Maxwell stepped around the couch and went outside, making sure Codsworth rally was outside.  


“Good morning, Codsworth,” Maxwell greeted. 

“Ah, good day, sir. How did you sleep?” 

Maxwell rubbed the back of his neck. “As good as you can on a couch that’s survived the nuclear apocalypse.” 

“Unfortunately, none of the beds have survived,” Codsworth mused, “Will you be wanting breakfast, sir?” 

Maxwell nodded. “Whatever you can make in this mess, I guess.” 

Maxwell watched Codsworth search through the cupboards as he muttered about how much he missed grocery stores. It didn’t take as long as Maxwell thought it would for Codsworth to find him something to eat. Though, he did look at the Sugar Bombs suspiciously, lasting this long was not natural. The sudden growl from his stomach forced him to ignore his suspicions. It was better than nothing. Probably. 

“My sensors have been detecting something moving about in the neighboring houses. Do you wish to accompany me in searching through them, sir?” Codsworth bobbed around the dilapidated kitchen, cleaning as well as he could. “Perhaps we will find someone who knows more about the world than I.” 

Finishing the last of his breakfast, Maxwell stood with a nod. “I’ll grab my gun.” 

Walking through the neighborhood, Maxwell felt like he was breathing ice. He’d known everyone who’d lived here over two hundred years ago. He knew all the silly gossip Mrs. Able liked to spout on about when over for coffee. Mrs. Callahan baked the best sugar cookies. Mr. Whitfield had taught him and Corey how to do all the handy work that they-he knew now. Ms. Rosa taught him how to help her and her son restore her old Corvega. They were all gone. 

Codsworth voice broke Maxwell from his thoughts, “Sir, I’m picking up movement in that house right over here.” 

“Lead the way,” Maxwell replied. 

Stepping inside, Maxwell nearly screamed as a giant fly suddenly buzzed aggressively at them. Codsworth was quick to kill it before it could attack either of them. He gave a jovial battle cry at the small swarm that was disturbed. Maxwell only needed to shoot two or three of them, blinking in surprise at Codsworth’s ruthless fighting. Codsworth just continued on, surveying more houses. They found only a few more of the giant flies, as well as a few giant cockroaches, in the rest of the houses. 

Codsworth made a hum of disappointment as they made their way back to their house. “I’m sorry, sir, it seems we won’t be finding anyone here.” 

“It’s fine, Codsworth.” 

“Oh, perhaps you could find someone in Concord!” Codsworth exclaimed, “I will stay here and hold the fort while you’re away, if you’d like.” 

Maxwell nodded. “I just hope I can handle whatever is out there.” 

“You could take Toby with you! He’s been more than helpful with getting rid of any unwanted guests.” 

“Just like old times, I guess.” Maxwell grinned. He stepped inside and found Toby sliding from the couch. “How ‘bout it, boy, you wanna go out there with me?” 

Toby’s tongue dangled from his mouth happily, and his tail wagged. Trotting outside, he gave an excited huff. 

“Alright, we’ll be back soon, Codsworth.” 

“Do be careful you two!” Codsworth waved one of his metal limbs. 

Maxwell and Toby made their way down the road and across the bridge. Immediately, they were met with a gruesome scene. A scaly, pink skinned dog had a tire iron lodged in its side, and a man laid dead next to it. With a sigh, Maxwell pulled the tire iron out of the dog, dragging it to the side. He did the same for the man, laying him down with his arms crossed over his chest. Toby sniffed at the ground at the statue’s feet and huffed. Taking a look, Maxwell grinned at the green duffle bag hidden in the brush. 

“Good boy, Toby.” Maxwell patted Toby’s head. 

Unzipping the bag, Maxwell felt his grin widen. Inside was a double-barrel shotgun, as well as some ammo to go with it. Closing the bag up, he slung its strap over his shoulder. They continued down the path toward the Red Rocket filling station. Maxwell felt uneasy with how quiet it was. He remembered the light bustle of cars and people he could hear from the guardrails. Now there was nothing but the sound of wind and their footsteps. 

Toby suddenly stopped, ears folding back in warning. Maxwell had his pistol up in a second. To Maxwell’s relief, a German Sheppard trotted happily toward them. He lowered and holstered his gun and calmed Toby. Crouching slowly, Maxwell held the back of his hand up to the dog, putting the other on Toby’s shoulder. The dog sniffed Maxwell’s hand and licked it. 

“Hey there, boy,” Maxwell greeted. He pet the dog’s head, turning to face Toby. “It’s alright, Toby, he seems friendly.” 

Toby sniffed the dog’s snout shortly before giving a playful boof. They both wagged their tails and sniffed each other amicably. Maxwell stood with a smile. “Do you wanna travel with us, boy?” 

The dog gave a happy yap in response. The moment ended abruptly, however, when both Toby and Dog began to growl at something Maxwell couldn’t see. Maxwell grabbed his pistol again and looked around in confusion. A strange sound behind Maxwell had him spinning to face a growing mound of dirt. Maxwell yelped in surprise as a giant, hairless rodent sprung from the ground. The shot to the creature’s head was absolutely done out of pure luck. Toby and Dog efficiently took out two other rodents together, and Maxwell shot and killed the last one. 

“What the fuck?” Maxwell pushed one of the rodents onto its side with his foot. “What the fuck?!” 

Wagging their tails way too cutely with blood on their snouts, Toby and Dog wandered back toward Maxwell. He rubbed his face with a sigh, continuing on the path for Concord. They made it to a fork in the road that had a dead creature in the middle of it. Of course, there were also enormous mosquitoes feasting on it. Maxwell groaned as the massive bugs took flight, knowing they were certainly coming for the three of them. He was surprisingly able to take them out without too much help from Toby or Dog. Apparently the creatures weren’t especially strong, but they could have been hatchlings or something of that sort. Maxwell shivered at the thought of larger, more terrifying versions of those things. 

Maxwell was grateful to see the town of Concord ahead of them, or what was left of it anyway. The three of them carefully picked their way through the abandoned ruins. Nothing bothered them again, luckily, but Maxwell could hear gunfire close by. He doubted Dog had military training, but he hoped Dog would follow Toby’s moves. Crouching at the entrance of an alleyway, Maxwell made a hand signal with his hand flat, palm gesturing toward the ground. Toby lay down, and Dog sat, both obediently waiting. 

Staying low, Maxwell quietly made his way to the other end of the alley. He peeked around the corner, seeing a group of strangely dressed people. They were hollering and shooting at something Maxwell couldn’t see. He made a gesture with his hand to beckon Toby and Dog to him. They came to his side, and he gestured for them to stay. He took a breath and stepped out of the alleyway, raising his hands up in peace. 

“Um, hi there,” Maxwell greeted. The group turned, everyone raising their guns at him. Maxwell chuckled nervously. “Is this a bad time?” 

Maxwell made a gesture and yelled as the group opened fire. Ducking behind an old car, Maxwell listened to the telltale sound of a dog taking someone down. He took advantage of the confusion Toby and Dog caused and shot at the group. By the time he reloaded his gun, five of them were shot dead with one more being attacked by both Toby and Dog. Maxwell felt bad for the last person and called them off of him. 

The man spat out at Maxwell, “I’m gonna fucking kill you!” 

Maxwell looked down and shot him as he tried to lift his strange looking weapon. He checked the bodies, searching for any ammo. “Hey! Up here, on the balcony.” 

Looking up, Maxwell saw a man wearing a long, tan coat and a cowboy hat with one of the sides pinned up. “Hi there.” 

“Listen, the raiders have almost broken through. Grab that laser musket and help us, please,” the man begged. 

Maxwell nodded and grabbed the mentioned gun and its ammo, calling Toby and Dog to follow. He opened the door to the building that used to be the Museum of Freedom. His steps were quiet, but he was out in the open. The raiders, as the man had called them, didn’t have to look hard to see him. He fought his way through the museum, picking off raiders as he came upon them. It took him a while, but he eventually found his way to the barricaded door. There were only a couple of raiders between him and it. The door was flung open, confusing the raiders by giving them another target to focus on. With the man’s help, Maxwell picked off the last raider and followed him inside the room. 

The man held out his hand. “I’m Preston Garvey of the Minutemen.” 

“I’m Maxwell. I’m sorry, did you just say Minutemen?” 

Preston nodded. “We are-were a great force, protecting those who needed it. I believe I may be the last one left.” 

“I know the feeling,” Maxwell frowned, “Who are these people?” 

“Those are the Longs – Marcy and Jun,” Preston gestured to the couple in the corner, “That’s old Mama Murphy,” he gestured to an old woman, “And this is Sturges.” 

Sturges looked up from the terminal he was trying to hack. “Hey there.” 

Maxwell nodded to him. “How’d you end up holed in here against those…raiders.” 

Preston sighed, “We came from Quincy. There were 20 of us then. Now we’re five.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” 

Marcy snapped, “Are you just going to talk all day? I thought you were here to help us?” 

“I am,” Maxwell said gently and looked to Marcy, “I’m sorry, I’m just a bit out of my depth here.” 

Marcy breathed out through her nose angrily. “Aren’t we all?” 

“We do have a plan to get out of here. Tell him, Sturges,” Preston said. 

Sturges grinned, speaking in a southern drawl, “Well, did ya see that vertibird up on the roof? That thing has a mini-gun on it. Now, you normally wouldn’t be able to pull it off of there, but there’s also a sweet, cherry T-45 power armor.” 

Maxwell felt a grin of his own on his lips. “I think I know where this is going.” 

“The only problem is, you need a fusion core to power it up. There’s one in the basement, but I’m no good at breaking security.” He gestured to the terminal that was going haywire. 

“I think I can do it.” 

************************************************ 

“What the fuck was that?!” Maxwell yelled, dropping the mini-gun in favor for pointing at the giant lizard, “It took almost all of my ammo to fucking take that thing down!” 

Dog and Toby sniffed it cautiously as Preston patted Maxwell’s armored shoulder. “That was a deathclaw.” 

Sturges poked at it with the toe of his shoe. “Whew, I thought you were a goner there, Maxwell. Can’t say I’ve heard of too many people takin’ one of these bad boys down.” 

Maxwell stared at them in shock. “It has ‘death’ in its name?” 

Preston and Sturges nodded at him as the others slowly stepped out of the museum. Preston spoke to all of them, “We’ll head to the ‘sanctuary’ Mama Murphy told us about.” 

Marcy rolled her eyes. “Are we really trusting another one of Mama Murphy’s ‘visions?’” 

“Have you got any other ideas, Marcy?” Sturges asked. 

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest, relenting. 

“Would you come with us?” Preston asked Maxwell. 

He nodded, grabbing the mini-gun again. “Of course.” 

They traveled up the road toward Sanctuary Hills. Maxwell realized that their ‘sanctuary’ was also his. He listened to Preston and Sturges talk as they walked. He felt a bit out of place amongst them, knowing he was the newest addition to the group. The sun was setting by the time they reached Red Rocket and the bridge to Sanctuary. Preston stopped for a moment in excitement, telling Maxwell about the statue. Making their way across the bridge, everyone in the group let out a sigh of relief. They stuck together until making it farther into Sanctuary, parting to get some sleep. 

Marcy led Jun into one of the houses to lay him down. Mama Murphy took up an old couch with a groan in the house that had a red workbench outside of it. Preston began to patrol the perimeter despite Sturges’ suggestion of getting some rest. He sighed and shook his head, knowing he’d have to force him to rest or eat. He gave Maxwell a look of concern when he hissed and climbed out of the power armor. 

“You alright there, pal?” Sturges asked. 

Maxwell rubbed his hands gingerly. “Yeah, just forgot how bad those things could be. I get sore real easily.” 

Sturges nodded. “I’ll leave you to rest, then. I’m gonna help Preston keep watch.” 

Maxwell smiled gratefully and made his way to his old house with Toby and Dog in tow. Codsworth greeted him happily, “Sir, I see you brought some guests! Will they be needing anything from me?” 

Thinking for a moment, Maxwell answered, “Could you help out with keeping the perimeter of Sanctuary safe?” 

“Of course, sir. I’m no Mister Gutsy, but I’ve done well so far.” 

“Thank you, Codsworth. Make sure you introduce yourself to the other two guys on patrol. I don’t want them thinking you’re an intruder.” 

“Very well. Good night, sir.” Codsworth bobbed out of the house. 

Maxwell sat on the couch with a groan. He lay back, happy to rest his aching body. Climbing onto the couch with him, Toby and Dog decided to be lap dogs. He grinned and scratched behind their ears until he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> As you've probably noticed, Maxwell and Corey, his late husband, did not have a child.


End file.
